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The dam was approaching its capacity on February 8, said OCHA, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( modis.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS ) on NASA's terra.nasa.gov/ Terra satellite captured the top image. The image shows the western shore of the Cahora Bassa Reservoir where the Zambezi and its tributary, the Luangwa River, form the back edge of the lake. The dam itself is beyond the right edge of the above image, but is shown in the large image. The lower image shows the region on December 24, 2006, before the rains started. By February 8, the reservoir had expanded to the confluence of the two rivers. The Luangwa River had also widened well beyond its dry-season banks. The water in the Cohora Bassa Reservoir lightened from blue-black to a dusty blue with the influx of muddy flood water.
Both of these images were created with a combination of infrared and visible light that makes water appear dark blue or black. Plant-covered land is bright green, and bare or sparsely vegetated land is tan-pink. Clouds are white and pale blue. The rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Zambia/2007039 MODIS Rapid Response System produces similar false-color images as well as photo-like, true-color images of southern Africa daily.
NASA images courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.